Walking around in my past

I am definitely not one to dwell on the past. But last week and this week have found me literally wandering the streets of my childhood and adolescence, revisiting the people and places of my youth. And, memories are a funny thing. They can be repressed for decades and then just come unbidden right to the forefront of your mind, with the slightest provocation, as if they happened recently. It's really weird. And, it's also weird that your hometown changes. Stuff that was there isn't there, and instead, new stuff is in its place. But, then, it's also weird that things you would have expected to change, haven't. The same thing happens internally. You find that you are not the same person you were (not even remotely!), but some piece of you remains the same. Those people and places have helped to make you who you are. You are new and old, all at once. I'm so thankful for where I have come from and for every single experience I've had that brought me to this point in my life. It has been an interesting exercise to walk around in my past for a while and to remember. And, it's has been even more fun to share that with my kiddos, because what has shaped me is also what is, in part, shaping them.